Meet Molly

"The average dog is a nicer person than the average person."- Andy Rooney

This little muscle-bound dog guarding the pile of corn from local wildlife is Molly, our 3 1/2 year old Jack Russell Terrier, or Terror, depending on the day. Molly was my gift on our two-year wedding anniversary though she's really Chris's dog. She's quite the tom boy and does her best to keep our little eight acres clear of cats, mice, deer, raccoons, squirrels, crows and of course other dogs. She's so intent on standing her ground that she even insists on "marking" her territory, going so far as to do her best in hiking her little leg to pee. We've afraid she might have some gender confusion issues, but like any good parents, we love her anyway.

Molly spends her days making her rounds while Chris and I are at work. She's not fenced in, so she visits various neighbors and has little trails she travels every day through the woods and beyond; we really have no idea what she does from 7 a.m. - 4 p.m. But she must get her exercise; she's solid muscle and never runs out of energy. She spends her evenings in Chris's lap in the recliner, and then around 9 p.m. she jumps up and heads to her crate in our bedroom regardless of whether or not we're ready for bed.

Now, don't get me wrong. Molly has been quite the little 12 lbs. of trouble since we got her three years ago. She's nearly went bald from a non-contagious form of the mange (a daily dose of heart worm pills took care of that). And we nearly poisoned her to death by bathing her regularly with a brand of puppy shampoo that, unbeknownst to us, was poisoning her, causing her to constantly throw up. And of course, the more she threw up, the more she stayed in the house, and the more we bathed her. It cost about $300 in testing and vet bills before Chris figured out what was really causing her to be sick.

But nothing tops last Christmas when we took Molly to my grandparents house. We left Molly in the yard to chase the wild cats, knowing well that she wouldn't catch one, but that the pursuit would certainly keep her occupied for a few hours. We were right; she didn't catch a cat. But she did do several hundred dollars damage to my grandparents' car and truck as she ripped out wires and light bulbs and even a plastic fender well while pursuing a few cats that took refuge under my grandma and grandpa's vehicles.

When Chris went to check on Molly, there she was standing amidst broken headlight bulbs and wire fragments, covered in grease and wagging her tail. We could have died! We promptly loaded the little devil up and headed to the ATM machine to make a down payment toward fixing the destruction she caused. My grandparents refused the money, though, and my grandpa (the most frugal man on Earth) managed to wire everything back together and only spending about $5 dollars in the process.

But despite the expensive vet visits, the vehicle destruction and the fact that she sheds everywhere, we love the little mutt and really enjoy having her around. As Roger Caras said, "Dogs are not our whole life, but they certainly help make our lives whole."